OwenB
Member
- Joined
- 8 Mar 2018
- Messages
- 300
Anyone awaiting for GN try to deal with the football crowd at Finsbury Park after the match on now?
Anyone awaiting for GN try to deal with the football crowd at Finsbury Park after the match on now?
*gets popcorn and fires up @GNRailUK on Twitter*The have an extra Moorgate to WGC (if it runs) and 2 cancellations.
Seeing as @The Box Photter likes to rant and rave I'm going to answer their rants in a calm manner and explain why they're wrong...
As to your view that GTR/Network Rail planners (DfT planners have nothing to do with this apart from the ORR approving paths) as well as many posters on this forum seeing the Thameslink network as a giant train set, that is childish for example you only have to see posts by @Failed Unit and @bramling amongst others to see that this isn't the case.
The section between Kentish Town and Blackfriars is being resignalled which means more train can run frequently though this area, without this resignalling this is not possible.
It seems to have escaped your attention that this isn't that easy as it means other TOCs which interface with GTR will have to have their timetables amended too such as Greater Anglia, London Overground, South West Trains, LNER, Cross Country, South Western Railway, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, Grand Central, South Eastern, London North Western Railway etc as they have planned their own timetables around the proposed GTR one.
Actually you're wrong here, if you took the time to read the posts from the Southern users here, the one part of the GTR timetable that has actually meant a better service is the Southern one as the majority here seem to be contend with the new timetable over the old one so why change just because a TL passenger doesn't like the TL timetable?
Really? Again you seem to miss out the rather important issue that Kings Cross and London Bridge are far more busier then they were a few years ago and in order to increase terminating platform capacity, they've had to run services though the Canal Tunnels in order to do this.
Again, see my last reply above your quote on why this shouldn't happen.
Again, Railplan 2020 was about increasing the number of services that passengers can use but at the same time increase the terminating capacity at Kings Cross and London Bridge by running more though services, the fact that it introduced new journey opportunities seems to be lost on you and your ranting.
For the record yet again, I am NOT defending GTR's handling of the timetable just pointing out the issues that are at hand without having to resort to ranting and raving.
Because whenever the **** hits the fan, the Hertford Loop services take a battering as they don't have any priority at all and the powers to be see the Cambridge services as more important then running a stopping service.
As well as the fact that the Loop has slower linespeeds it also adds 20 mins to the journey if you're diverted even more if you're following a stopper which is why there is no interest in running stoppers when they're using the Loop to divert services.
Anyone awaiting for GN try to deal with the football crowd at Finsbury Park after the match on now?
18:41 service to Cambridge cancelled. The 18:56 Peterborough has had additional stops at Finsbury Park and Stevenage added. Platforms at Finsbury were wedged as we arrived.
It’d be good if GTR operated some 12 car trains at times like this to mop up the crowds but they’re sat in the sidings.....
*gets popcorn and fires up @GNRailUK on Twitter*
Really, I find your comments patronising and typical of someone who doesn't have to put up with the disaster that is Thameslink.
You sound suspiciously like a GTR employee or management type who doesn't have to put up with the disaster that is Thameslink.
Good old ^Jack. Twitter aside, it's the small things in general that tell you a lot about how a company is run - before this whole timetable disaster they would only ever have one ticket office window open at Hatfield on the evenings of Arsenal games. It's just a glimpse of how little they actually think about what is happening in the real world and how it may impact their service.It's not good on Twitter. Many unhappy punters. Jack is doing his best to placate them with stock Delay Repay
According to the original plans, Welwyn Garden City was meant to be 4tph off peak Monday to Saturday and Hertford North was meant to be 6tph off peak Monday to Saturday however like all things that GTR and Network Rail have done, both have been descoped.
Good old ^Jack. Twitter aside, it's the small things in general that tell you a lot about how a company is run - before this whole timetable disaster they would only ever have one ticket office window open at Hatfield on the evenings of Arsenal games. It's just a glimpse of how little they actually think about what is happening in the real world and how it may impact their service.
Good old ^Jack. Twitter aside, it's the small things in general that tell you a lot about how a company is run - before this whole timetable disaster they would only ever have one ticket office window open at Hatfield on the evenings of Arsenal games. It's just a glimpse of how little they actually think about what is happening in the real world and how it may impact their service.
You find MY comments patronising and typical of someone who doesn't have to put up with the disaster in your words that is Thameslink?
All I have done is taken you to task on your rants and pointed out why they're not entirely correct.
In no way have I attempted to be patronising rather I've been trying to explain where you are wrong and unlike you I haven't ranted and raved about the service.
I sound like a GTR employee or management type and here you've outdone yourself by jumping to the wrong conclusion based on the common sense approach I try to bring to these forums, I have nothing to do with the railways apart from being a passenger like any of the other members here, my only contact with the railway is travelling from A to B.
Yes I know the route very well having commuted on it for over a decade but that doesn't make me any more a GTR employee then @Failed Unit, @jopsuk, @jon0844 or even @bramling which makes you look rather silly.
Yes I no longer commute on the routes affected by this but that doesn't mean I can't comment on it nor does it mean I can't try to explain why your posts are invalid, I don't travel in the Central Belt does that mean I shouldn't post on these topics as I'm not directly affected by them of course not as that is being childish.
Can you seriously point to any significant improvement in service to passengers as a result of the timetable change in May?
but if you live north of St Pancras on either branch, the reliability and convenience has been shot to pieces.
ou describe my postings as a "rant"
well that's fine, I intended to convey my disgust for the way I and many thousands of season ticket holders have been treated over the past months and my contempt for apologists like yourself.
GTR are still deleting trains from the schedule. Looking at the interim timetable there should be departures from Kings Cross to Stevenage at the following times this evening:
22:11 arrives 22:37
22:41 arrives 23:07
23:02 arrives 23:43
23:22 arrives 23:48
00:02 arrives 00:43
00:32 arrives 01:13
01:32 arrives 02:21
The journey planners for today show no 22:41 or 00:02. Disgraceful that they're still just deleting trains. There is no mention of these cancellations in the service disruption section of their website. I haven't checked trains before 22:00 but I strongly suspect there are further cancellations.
I'm not going to argue on this as the reliability of the service HAS suffered though lack of trained drivers for the service and nothing more.
What about delays south of the core being transmitted north, resulting in further delays and skip stopping? Bear in mind that many of these stations only get 2 trains an hour.
I'm a 'hard core' rail user and even I'm starting to make decisions based on the service which I've never, ever done before (even in the bad days following Hatfield). I could've gone to a concert in London tonight that finished around 22:00 but decided to head home early as looking at the trains back to Stevenage I couldn't be certain what time I'd get home. Looking at the current state of play this was a wise move as the 22:41, 23:02 and 00:02 are all slowing as cancelled.
Can you seriously point to any significant improvement in service to passengers as a result of the timetable change in May? Perhaps some ex-Southern passengers now get a slightly more convenient service than before, but if you live north of St Pancras on either branch, the reliability and convenience has been shot to pieces. You describe my postings as a "rant", well that's fine, I intended to convey my disgust for the way I and many thousands of season ticket holders have been treated over the past months and my contempt for apologists like yourself.
...then followed by GN...Southern makes up 67% of services on the GTR network.
They are always going to be the priority to get right, followed by TL.
f you live north of St Pancras on either branch, the reliability and convenience has been shot to pieces.
I'm a 'hard core' rail user and even I'm starting to make decisions based on the service which I've never, ever done before (even in the bad days following Hatfield). I could've gone to a concert in London tonight that finished around 22:00 but decided to head home early as looking at the trains back to Stevenage I couldn't be certain what time I'd get home. Looking at the current state of play this was a wise move as the 22:41, 23:02 and 00:02 are all slowing as cancelled.
And to think that on Sundays until 20th May Stevenage used to have two fast trains an hour and a semi fast (and a 2nd semi fast in the busiest hours)
At this point I don't think the service to Flitwick (that I believe you commute from) is any worse than it was pre May 20th. In fact the morning service is now pretty reliable with some occasional evening cancellations and delays but nothing worse than I'm used to.
The Bedford side seems to have bedded in somewhat (although obviously the driver training task is somewhat easier on the MML side compared to GN). On the other hand one of my colleagues commutes from Hitchin and seems to have a much worse time of it.
Southern makes up 67% of services on the GTR network.
They are always going to be the priority to get right, followed by TL.
In the mornings it's usually OK. But by the evening, they've usually lost the plot because of knock on delays cause by late running trains off th GN side running late back into London. On many evenings I've had to wait for close to an hour before a train is available at Blackfriars that is stopping at Flitwick. That's because the train is either a "Thameslink Express" or a skip-stopper. Remember, we've no alternative way to get home.
On many evenings I've had to wait for close to an hour before a train is available at Blackfriars that is stopping at Flitwick
because of knock on delays cause by late running trains off th GN side running late back into London
When the last train is cancelled, are passengers offered a taxi home?I find early mornings and late evenings the worse. They normally state they don’t find drivers for the first trains of the day doing the Cambridge/ Welwyn - London diagrams. This the rapidly cascades as other trains have stops added to cover (and removed as they are too full) the rush hour is normally over before they have recovered.
Pm peak isn’t normally as bad.
Travel after 2100 it is definitely “do you feel lucky punk?”
They won’t think twice about cancelling the last trains home, which probably also explains why the morning service is so bad. It may have a driver for the AM working but the train never made it the night before. The reason given for the cancellation is no driver. Which is correct (for the previous night). Imagine if they said “no train - due to it not making it north the previous night”